Saudi official fired over rising MERS gloom

As MERS continues to rise its deadly hood, Saudi Arabia’s health minister, as a measure of fight back, has sacked one of his deputies

The Saudi Arabian Health Ministry did not give any reasons for the dismissal of deputy minister Mr Ziad Memish

Singapore: As the MERS death count reached a peak, the Saudi Arabian health minister fought back by sacking one of his deputies.

The ministry said on Twitter that the MERS coronavirus death toll has reached 190. However, the ministry did not give any reasons for the dismissal of deputy minister Mr Ziad Memish.

The official position shuffling has been going on for a while now. Former health minister Mr Abdullah al-Rabiah was dismissed in April without official explanations too. He was then replaced by labour minister Mr Adel Fakieh, who had promised ‘transparency' in providing the public and media with information about the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome.

SARS that had made a deadly appearance in Asia in 2003 had infected 8,273 people, nine percent of whom were reported to be dead. MERS is considered to be a deadlier but less transmissible cousin of the SARS virus.

MERS is said to cause rapid kidney failure, although its symptoms are very alike the ones in SARS - lung infection, coughing, breathing difficulties and a temperature.